提要
掃羅是以色列的領袖，上帝要使用他來完成上帝拯救以色列人的計畫。不過，在此同時，掃羅也被上帝試驗。可惜掃羅再一次失敗了。他沒有順服上帝透過先知撒母耳要他徹底毀滅亞瑪力人及其牲畜的命令。掃羅第一次的失敗是在獻祭的事上悖逆上帝（13：13~14），結果使他的家族喪失以色列國的王位。掃羅第二次的失敗更使他自己的王權遭到最後的棄絕。
亞瑪力人是以掃的後裔（創36：12）。他們一直是以色列人的敵人。上帝要以色列人滅絕亞瑪力人的理由是，當以色列人出埃及後不久，亞瑪力人竟在西乃殘酷的從行伍背後（可能有許多以色列的婦女和小孩）偷襲以色列人（出17：8、14；申25：18~19）。他們的罪已令上帝忍無可忍，所以他們被判為「當滅的」，必要「治死」（利27：29）。亞瑪力人既是被上帝所咒詛，寬容他們任何一個人或拿取任何戰利品就算是得罪上帝（如同亞干所犯的一樣；書6：17~18；7：1、11、20~21、25）。
掃羅一定瞭解上帝的命令是什麼，因為撒母耳傳達得很清楚。但他不順服、不討上帝的喜悅，反想取悅百姓，讓他們帶回亞瑪力人上好的牲畜。掃羅還為自己立一座碑，竊取該歸給上帝的榮耀（15：12）。掃羅留亞瑪力王亞甲活命，向人展示他的成就，更明顯的看出他的驕傲。撒母耳說：「從前你以自己為小……」，暗示掃羅曾經很謙卑，但現在在掃羅眼裡，他看自己為「大」。一個上帝的僕人應當永遠在上帝面前謙卑，並永遠記得，離了上帝，我們就不能做什麼。
當撒母耳質問掃羅時，掃羅表現出悔改的意思，但並不是發自內心的，因為他還在為自己找藉口，將罪過推給百姓，而不承認自己的罪。他還想合理化自己的行為，解釋說所帶回的牲畜是要獻給上帝為祭。撒母耳用一句著名的真理強烈的回答他：「聽命勝於獻祭」（15：22；參何6：6；賽1：11~17）。再多的宗教行為都無法取代順服、對上帝真正的奉獻、以及心靈的純潔。這也正是耶穌常常責備法利賽人的原因（可12：30~33）。
撒母耳指控掃羅，悖逆的罪實與行邪術的罪相等，頑梗的罪實與拜偶像的罪相同。他說，因著這些罪，掃羅厭棄上帝的命令，所以上帝也厭棄掃羅為王。掃羅已經破壞了作王的首要條件：「敬畏耶和華，事奉祂，聽從祂的話，不違背祂的命令」（12：14）。
所以上帝後悔立掃羅為王（15：11）。我們知道上帝絕不會犯錯，也不會改變祂的心意，就如廿九節清楚明示的。如果不仔細查考，我們會覺得第十一節似乎暗示上帝是會反反覆覆的上帝。上帝的後悔不同於人的後悔，上帝的後悔指的是，祂計畫的執行因人的新情況而有了改變。上帝的應許和警告常常是有條件的，因為祂創造人類有自由的意志。當上帝所使用的人有所改變（如掃羅的心改變了），上帝也會相對的改變祂對那人的計畫。以掃羅為例，雖然上帝棄絕了他，但上帝拯救以色列國的全盤計畫並沒有變。上帝已經揀選了另一個器皿來實現祂的計畫。
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Overview
As the leader of Israel, Saul was used by God to accomplish His purpose of deliverance. Yet, at the same time, Saul was being tested. Once again, Saul failed miserably. He did not fully obey God when told through the prophet Samuel to utterly destroy every Amalekite and their animals. Royal succession to the throne was lost to his family when he failed the first test by disobediently offering the sacrifices (13:13-14). Personal and final rejection of his kingship by God resulted from the failure of this second test.
The Amalekites, descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12), had been constant enemies of Israel. The reason given for their extermination was their cruel surprise attack upon Israel's weak rear ranks (likely many women and children) in the Sinai, shortly after the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 17:8,14; Deuteronomy 25:18-19). Their sin had reached the point of intolerance; therefore, they were put "under the ban" and "doomed to destruction" by God (Leviticus 27:29). As such they were accursed and to spare any of them or take any spoil would be a sin against God (just as it had been with Achan, Joshua 6:17-18; 7:1,11, 20-21, 25).
Saul had most certainly understood the divine command, for Samuel had made it very clear. Rather than obeying and pleasing God, he was more interested in pleasing the people and allowed them to take the best of the spoil. He set up a monument for himself, thus taking the glory for the victory rather than giving it to God (15:12). Saul's pride was also evident in his taking the Amalekite king Agag alive to show everyone his own accomplishment. Samuel's words, "when you were little in your own eyes..." imply that once Saul had been humble, but now he considered himself "big" in his own eyes. A servant of God must always remain humble before Him. This is done by always remembering that without God we can do nothing.
When confronted by Samuel, Saul spoke words of repentance, but they did not come from his heart, for he still tried to make excuses and put the blame on the people rather than confessing his own guilt. He also tried to rationalize the taking of the animals by saying they were to be sacrifices to the Lord. Samuel responded forcefully with the classic, well-known Bible truth: "To obey is better than sacrifice" (15:22; cf. Hosea 6:6; Isaiah 1:11-17). No amount of religiousity can take the place of obedience, true devotion to God, and purity of heart. This was the very reason Jesus so often rebuked the Pharisees (Mark 12:30-33).
Samuel accused Saul of rebelliousness, which is equivalent to the abomination of witchcraft, and stubbornness against the will of God, which is equivalent to the sin of idolatry. He said that because of these sins, Saul had rejected the word of God, and therefore God rejected him as king (15:23). Saul had violated the main requirements for the king, which were to "fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord" (12:14).
And so the Lord regretted making Saul king (15:11). We know our God never makes mistakes, nor changes His mind, as verse 29 clearly states; yet without closer examination this is what verse 11 seems to imply. Some versions of the text refer to it as God repenting that He had made Saul king. The repentance of God, unlike that of man, refers to a change in the administration of God's plan according to the new situation of man. God's promises and threats are often conditional, because He created mankind to have a free will. When there is a change (like the change of heart in Saul) in the person God is using, He in turn has a corresponding change in His plans toward that one. In the case of Saul, even though God had to reject him, it did not change His overall purpose of salvation for the nation of Israel. God had already chosen another human instrument to fulfill His purpose.
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